In article >,
Serendip > wrote:

> How do you know, when tea is weak, if it means it needs to steep longer,
> or if you need to use more tea, or it's a combination of the two.

there are very few formulae (?) when it comes to tea. i have pondered
the same question many times, and have come to the conclusion that every
fine tea has it's own character, and it's own needs before it yields up
that elusive 'perfect cup'. try this way, then that. then another.

the only drag about experimenting is that one is hesitant to do much of
it when dealing with a tea that is exceedingly expensive. many a time
i've gone thru an entire batch of a tea and never learned it's secrets.
but i've come to love all the imponderables surrounding tea experience -
keeps me interested, and all........................p*

what happened to the general rule of 1 tablespoon of tea for a 6 oz
cup? after that, the variables to play with are water temperature and
steeping time no? i find that the most important variable to play with
is the steeping time and then water temperature. the combination of
the two can help determine the number of infusions that set of tea
leaves can go through as well as the taste.

what happened to the general rule of 1 tablespoon of tea for a 6 oz
cup? after that, the variables to play with are water temperature and
steeping time no? i find that the most important variable to play with
is the steeping time and then water temperature. the combination of
the two can help determine the number of infusions that set of tea
leaves can go through as well as the taste.

3/22/05


> what happened to the general rule of 1 tablespoon of tea for a 6 oz
> cup? after that, the variables to play with are water temperature and
> steeping time no? i find that the most important variable to play with
> is the steeping time and then water temperature. the combination of
> the two can help determine the number of infusions that set of tea
> leaves can go through as well as the taste.
>

I'm coming in here quite late, so I might have missed something crucial to
the discussion. Nonetheless, I'd say that one tablespoon of tea can mean
many things depending on whether the tea is compact and heavy -- such as
Sencha or most Keemuns -- or light and fluffy -- such as many white teas or
Phoenix Oolongs. I know its a pain for many, but I use weight: one gram of
tea for two ounces of water for greens, one gram of tea for one ounce of
water for most Pu'erhs, and approximately two grams of tea for each ounce of
water for gung-fu Oolongs. Water temperatures, as you say, vary. Weight
works better than volume for me.

Michael

On 3/22/2005 10:41 AM, wrote:
> what happened to the general rule of 1 tablespoon of tea for a 6 oz
> cup? after that, the variables to play with are water temperature and
> steeping time no? i find that the most important variable to play with
> is the steeping time and then water temperature. the combination of
> the two can help determine the number of infusions that set of tea
> leaves can go through as well as the taste.
>

I'm pretty sure it's TEAspoon, not table, but nothing has happened to
the "rule", however I'm learning it's more of a variable, just as you
say steep time and water temperature are. As I said in my original post,
a friend never varies the temp or steep time, but always the amount of
tea leaves. It works for him, and I've learned it doesn't, for me!

On 3/22/2005 10:41 AM, wrote:
> what happened to the general rule of 1 tablespoon of tea for a 6 oz
> cup? after that, the variables to play with are water temperature and
> steeping time no? i find that the most important variable to play with
> is the steeping time and then water temperature. the combination of
> the two can help determine the number of infusions that set of tea
> leaves can go through as well as the taste.
>

I'm pretty sure it's TEAspoon, not table, but nothing has happened to
the "rule", however I'm learning it's more of a variable, just as you
say steep time and water temperature are. As I said in my original post,
a friend never varies the temp or steep time, but always the amount of
tea leaves. It works for him, and I've learned it doesn't, for me!

"Serendip" > wrote in message
news
>
> As I said in my original post,
> a friend never varies the temp or steep time, but always the amount of
> tea leaves. It works for him...

I don't mean any offense - I'm curious as to why he does that. Is he rich,
naturally wasteful, did someone teach him that all teas should be brewed for
only 30 secs? 'Cause if he could brew a good cup w/ 1 tsp for 2-5 min, or
whatever - depending on the tea especially black, he would use less tea and
spend less money than if he added enough tea to make a good brew in the
aforementioned 30 secs.

--
~~Bluesea~~ looking for a logical explanation
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

On 3/23/2005 1:51 PM, Bluesea wrote:
> "Serendip" > wrote in message
> news
>>
>> As I said in my original post,
>> a friend never varies the temp or steep time, but always the amount of
>> tea leaves. It works for him...
>
> I don't mean any offense - I'm curious as to why he does that. Is he rich,
> naturally wasteful, did someone teach him that all teas should be brewed for
> only 30 secs? 'Cause if he could brew a good cup w/ 1 tsp for 2-5 min, or
> whatever - depending on the tea especially black, he would use less tea and
> spend less money than if he added enough tea to make a good brew in the
> aforementioned 30 secs.

LOL - doesn't offend *me* at all! I dunno - he started really
drinking tea when he lived in Japan for several years, and mostly drinks
green tea. He's found that more than 30 seconds makes things taste
bitter for him, and so he taught himself his 30 second rule, and does
the same with darjeeling, other blacks, etc.

"Serendip" > wrote in message
...
> On 3/23/2005 1:51 PM, Bluesea wrote:
> > "Serendip" > wrote in message
> > news
> >>
> >> As I said in my original post,
> >> a friend never varies the temp or steep time, but always the amount of
> >> tea leaves. It works for him...
> >
> > I don't mean any offense - I'm curious as to why he does that. Is he
rich,
> > naturally wasteful, did someone teach him that all teas should be brewed
for
> > only 30 secs? 'Cause if he could brew a good cup w/ 1 tsp for 2-5 min,
or
> > whatever - depending on the tea especially black, he would use less tea
and
> > spend less money than if he added enough tea to make a good brew in the
> > aforementioned 30 secs.
>
> LOL - doesn't offend *me* at all! I dunno - he started really
> drinking tea when he lived in Japan for several years, and mostly drinks
> green tea. He's found that more than 30 seconds makes things taste
> bitter for him, and so he taught himself his 30 second rule, and does
> the same with darjeeling, other blacks, etc.

It's too bad that he never learned that different teas have different
brewing parameters, but as long as he's happy...<shrug>.

Thanks for the explanation.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Serendip" > wrote in message
...
> On 3/23/2005 1:51 PM, Bluesea wrote:
> > "Serendip" > wrote in message
> > news
> >>
> >> As I said in my original post,
> >> a friend never varies the temp or steep time, but always the amount of
> >> tea leaves. It works for him...
> >
> > I don't mean any offense - I'm curious as to why he does that. Is he
rich,
> > naturally wasteful, did someone teach him that all teas should be brewed
for
> > only 30 secs? 'Cause if he could brew a good cup w/ 1 tsp for 2-5 min,
or
> > whatever - depending on the tea especially black, he would use less tea
and
> > spend less money than if he added enough tea to make a good brew in the
> > aforementioned 30 secs.
>
> LOL - doesn't offend *me* at all! I dunno - he started really
> drinking tea when he lived in Japan for several years, and mostly drinks
> green tea. He's found that more than 30 seconds makes things taste
> bitter for him, and so he taught himself his 30 second rule, and does
> the same with darjeeling, other blacks, etc.

It's too bad that he never learned that different teas have different
brewing parameters, but as long as he's happy...<shrug>.

Thanks for the explanation.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.